4 Halloween Ideas to Boo-st Your Sales

Halloween is the holiday that marks the beginning of the so-called "spending season", with Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Valentine's Day following soon after. And it is approaching fast, bringing some fascinating statistics with it:

Source: Statista

As the statistic above shows, Halloween's planned spending is nothing short of massive. Most of that amount is reserved for treats for the little trick-or-treating monsters, but this doesn't mean that you can't use Halloween's lore and unique imagery to your advantage.

Of course, this is no easy process. But having a slice of that spending pie above is more than worth it.

So, without further ado, here's how you can get scary-good Halloween sales without breaking a sweat!

A bewitching email marketing campaign

I'm sure that you're already familiar with the benefits of email marketing and how little details can make a big difference. Small things, like mobile optimization, can improve your email opens and CTR.

The same thing goes with seasonal email marketing campaigns. Creating an offer and connecting it to the holiday spirit, or creating custom content that can link your service to Halloween, even if your industry is too "serious" for something like that, is not an easy task, but it's worth it.

Use a Halloween email subject line and a themed template that will win over your audience. And don't be too scared to make things spooky.

If your brand doesn’t want to share a spooky little offer, you can always go for an educational, informative email with a holiday theme - in our case, a Halloween theme. For example, spooky Halloween traditions around the world are always a good idea for any brand.

Makeup brands can share Halloween makeup inspiration and gently promote their products through explainer videos embedded in their email marketing campaign. At the same time, SaaS companies can create Halloween-themed blog posts they could promote via email.

Just make sure that your email marketing campaign can be shareable on both social media and between recipients. Sharing your content will help with your branding efforts and will increase word-of-mouth conversion.

A Halloween contest

One of the most underrated but most potent weapons for marketers is UGC. And Halloween is the perfect holiday to run a Halloween contest filled with UGC, especially as it's a cost-effective - or sometimes zero-cost - way to promote your brand.

Just urge your audience to dress up, decorate their space, and share photos of themselves in Halloween attire while using your branded hashtags or tagging your brand's Instagram page in their pictures or stories.

Of course, since you're running a UGC contest, don't forget to create an "entry" of your own, one that prospects will be able to like, share, and tag people to.

This will boost your engagement rate and trick Instagram's algorithm into showing your posts more, helping you end up on the "Discover" page.

UGC helps not only with engagement but also with brand exposure and, eventually, sales. The consensus is that UGC produces more content for your brand without you needing to spend your marketing budget, and it can also introduce your brand to a broader chunk of your audience.

The prize of your UGC contest can very well be a discount code or free shipping - this will urge winners to proceed with a purchase. Why not boost their intent with a referral program, perhaps offering a smaller discount when they refer a friend who then makes a purchase.

Branding in disguise

Seasonal elements can make a huge difference when it comes to getting your audience's attention, especially on social media.

Of course, there’s no need to "go big". Changing your profile and cover photo on your social media platforms can be your first move. Alternatively, you can add Halloween elements to your existing ones.

Something as simple as a little pumpkin on the side of your profile image will let your prospects know that you want to "notify" them about something holiday-themed.

If you've got a special offer to go with your brand's "costume", make sure to include a small copy on your header image or in the photo's description.

Redirect that crowd to your website as well, and see your website's traffic increase organically with minimal effort.

Don't forget to use Halloween-themed stories if we're talking about Instagram and/or Facebook. Instagram stories, in particular, are a brilliant way to grow your audience and monetize your Instagram page.

Limited edition treats

It's no surprise the holiday season is that time of year when brands come up with limited editions for their products. More often than not, seasonal, limited edition products become collectibles.

This doesn't mean you need to use all of your marketing budget to create and put a brand new, limited edition product out on the market. Customize the package of an already existing product or release a product to be sold for a specific period.

Starbucks sell their famous Pumpkin Spiced Lattes from September to December each year, making it more sought after which people actually anticipate buying.

Pro tip: Limited edition products also make for great presents. An excellent online marketing hack would be to segment your audience and see how many would celebrate a special occasion that would lead them towards purchasing your product.

The takeaway

The holiday season is a unique opportunity to boost your sales and reach more prospects by creating fun, engaging content that will entice and lead them further down the sales funnel.

Halloween is not a holiday to be serious. To promote your products or services, you’ll need to create engaging content worthy of the Halloween spirit and your brand.